Abuja commuters lament collapse of public transportation

These days, commuting in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) comes with unbearable agony; writes AMEH EJEKWONYILO

For the vast majority of low-income earners who reside in satellite towns and suburbs of the FCT, commuting to the city centre on a daily basis brings unspeakable physical and mental suffering. From either standing under the scorching sun or in the cold rain, residents who lack personal means of mobility, are at the mercy of the elements. 

“Life in Abuja is largely miserable as far as public transportation is concerned. The masses are at the mercy of nature and private motorists who charge often twice of the usual fare that should be paid by a commuter,” Olawale Segun, an automobile parts dealer at Wuse district of Abuja, told Blueprint.

“Public transportation in Abuja has collapsed. The tragedy of all this is in the fact that it appears there is no Minister in charge of the city; who should map out a blueprint for intra-city transportation in the FCT, Mike Agbo, a civil servant lamented.

From the densely populated Nyanya-Mararaba axis up to Kubwa and the Lugbe-Gwagwalada end of the city, the agony of commuters is almost the same. While the associated problems with commuting from the Nyanya axis bordering Nasarawa state to the city centre is compounded by intractable traffic congestions due to population explosions and indiscipline amongst road users, the situation is a bit better at the Lugbe and Kubwa areas as a result of the multiple lanes of the expressway.

Describing the horrendous transportation problems at the Nyanya bust stop, a National Youth Service Corps member, Miss Jumoke Lawal, said, “Life on a typical working day, especially on a Monday is hellish for those of us who have no means of mobility. As a corps member, I spend a large junk of my monthly allowance on fares, with little left for other life pressing needs.”

Another commuter who works with a federal government agency in Abuja noted revealed that her staff utility vehicle at her office broke down in February, which forced her to boarding private vehicles to work.

“Since the staff bus that plies my route broke down in February, I have had to rely on private motorists to get to work every day. Most times, I pay twice the usual fare due to the large number of commuters that throngs the bus stop during rush hours in the mornings and evenings. It is actually difficult to get by due to the absence of viable public transport system in the city,” the anonymous commuter said.

“As early as 6:00am on week days, the traffic gridlock at Nyanya starts building and by 8:00am, it would get to its peak, leaving commuters stranded and burned out due to the hot weather. So, the absence of a functional public transportation system in Abuja is not only unbearable but scandalous for a nation’s capital city,” a top civil servant who pleaded anonymity said. 

The tale is not different from adjoining routes to the expressways that lead to the city centre as commuters lately have been stranded at their bus stops.

“On the Jikwoyi-Karishi route adjoining the Nyanya highway, commuters in the last one week have been battling with commuting to work and dropping their children and wards off at school,” Mrs. Oluchi Alozie, a trader at Wuse market, told our correspondent.

“For instance, on March 9 (Monday), I left my house at about 6:00am, but there was no vehicle to board to town; after spending over two hours at my bus stop at Jikwoyi, I had to return home. I later learnt that motorcycle and tricycle operators who convey commuters to Nyanya refused to work because there was huge traffic congestion. These are the associated problems with lack of functional transport system in Abuja,” she said.

“For a journey of 30 minutes to the city centre, it took me over three hours to get to the city centre after leaving my house at 6:00am on Monday, March 9,” another commuter who did not want her name in print, said.

Way forward 

A stranded commuter at the Gwagwalada end of the FCT, Mr. Abdulrasheed Segun, said the minister of the FCT must as a matter of urgency development and unveil a transport blueprint for the nation’s capital city.

“The FCT minister must quickly unveil a public transport blueprint for the city. Abuja ought to be a model for other cities in the country. Sadly, it is not so. Recently, Luxembourg made public transport free. But here we are begging the government to only establish a robust and stress free public transport which commuters will pay for. It is unfortunate that there is no public transport system in Abuja,” Segun said.

In a report by the AFP, Luxembourg is the first country to make all public transport free. According to the government, it is in a bid to reduce dense car traffic. The measure is part of a wider plan to reduce congestion.

 The AFP reports that private cars are the most used form of transport in the country. According to a 2018 survey by TNS Ilres, cars accounted for 47% of business travel and 71% of leisure.

Buses are used for only 32% of trips to work, followed by trains, which account for 19%. In comparison, in Paris, 69% of workers use public transport, according to Insee, the French statistics institute.

Luxembourg City, the capital, where a tramway has been under construction for several years, is notoriously bad for traffic jams. The first section of the tramway has been operational since the end of 2017, but work will continue for several years to link the southern outskirts of the city to the north, where the airport is located.

The transport minister, François Bausch, said, “Systematic and continuous investment is a sine qua non for promoting the attractiveness of public transport.”

Expert’s take

On his part, the lead director of Centre for Social Justice, a non-governmental organisation with a mission to mainstream social justice and fairness in all facets of public life, Mr. Eze Onyekpere, said, “A coordinated multimodal public transportation system is a necessity in any human settlement, especially in towns and cities where there is need for constant movement of persons, goods and services. The collapse of the Abuja public transportation system is part of the failure of governance where city administrators occupy seats without the least idea(s) of city governance or a heart to improve the lives of the residents.

“Abuja is in need of high capacity public buses as well public private partnerships to increase the number of such buses. Also, the city needs a light rail system, developed to reach the suburbs and satellite towns from the city centre.  This can be done if the city mangers devise good transportation plans and implement same.”

However, when Blueprint contacted the public relations officer of the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) in charge of the Transport Secretariat, Mr. Ifeanyi Ughamadu, to comment on the complaints of commuters and the general condition of the sector, he declined comments as his line rang out when this reporter put several phone calls to him.

Ughamadu, in a text message to our reporter’s enquiry after several phone calls and text messages to get him comment on the condition of public transport in Abuja, he only said, “Sorry, I travelled out of Abuja.”

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